Let me see your Boulders.
April 12, 2010 2:39 PM Subscribe
What is your favorite mid-sized city with good cultural opportunities, etc., that is near a larger city?
Looking long-term, my wife and I are discussing areas to move to. We've both agreed that our ideal next location would be a mid-sized city (50,000 to 100,000 people) that:
a) has its own urban core with cultural opportunities, coffee shops, etc.
b) is within about 1 hour of a larger city
c) is located in the west
d) is near lots of outdoor opportunities like hiking, camping, skiing
An ideal example of this is Boulder, CO, but I'm sure there are other cities out there we're not aware of. Obviously wherever we can get jobs is important, but we'd like to know where to start looking. This is where you come in, o hive mind. Thanks!
Looking long-term, my wife and I are discussing areas to move to. We've both agreed that our ideal next location would be a mid-sized city (50,000 to 100,000 people) that:
a) has its own urban core with cultural opportunities, coffee shops, etc.
b) is within about 1 hour of a larger city
c) is located in the west
d) is near lots of outdoor opportunities like hiking, camping, skiing
An ideal example of this is Boulder, CO, but I'm sure there are other cities out there we're not aware of. Obviously wherever we can get jobs is important, but we'd like to know where to start looking. This is where you come in, o hive mind. Thanks!
Santa Cruz.
posted by contraption at 2:45 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by contraption at 2:45 PM on April 12, 2010
Riverside Valley has some great cities that fit your description all within an hour or so of Los Angeles and San Diego.
Riverside for the most part is a bedroom community for people commuting into LA and San Diego.
posted by lakerk at 2:52 PM on April 12, 2010
Riverside for the most part is a bedroom community for people commuting into LA and San Diego.
posted by lakerk at 2:52 PM on April 12, 2010
Whoops, reading comprehension is (my) friend. Santa Rosa (mentioned above) also instantly sprang to mind.
posted by mynameisluka at 2:52 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by mynameisluka at 2:52 PM on April 12, 2010
Santa Cruz is a good suggestion. I love that city. Eugene, OR might fit the bill as well (located about 2 hours south of Portland).
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:53 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:53 PM on April 12, 2010
Madison, Wisconsin is within an hour drive of Milwaukee, and a couple hours from Chicago, but has its own art/culture scene and is near foresty recreation areas (the Dells, etc); whether that counts as 'west' depends on your viewpoint.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:53 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:53 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
In Texas I would say, New Braunfels, or San Marcos. Great little towns, and within striking distance of San Antonio, and Austin.
New Braunfels is the home of the best water park in America-"Schlitterbahn"
San Marcos is more of a "college" type town, but great art/culture, and just a neat little city.
posted by snoelle at 2:55 PM on April 12, 2010
New Braunfels is the home of the best water park in America-"Schlitterbahn"
San Marcos is more of a "college" type town, but great art/culture, and just a neat little city.
posted by snoelle at 2:55 PM on April 12, 2010
Olympia, Washington?
posted by kindall at 2:55 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by kindall at 2:55 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Olympia, Washington, from what we saw on our trip through there a year and a half ago may fit your bill.
posted by chiefthe at 2:55 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by chiefthe at 2:55 PM on April 12, 2010
Maybe too big for you, but Oakland otherwise fits and there are definitely neighborhoods with a small city vibe. The arts/culture scene is incredibly vital and it is a definite win on b, c and d. People love to hate on Oakland but it should be on your list of possibilities.
posted by quarterframer at 2:58 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by quarterframer at 2:58 PM on April 12, 2010
Also Bend, Oregon - depending on whether you need a job there or not.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:59 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:59 PM on April 12, 2010
Bellingham, WA, which is in between Seattle and Vancouver BC.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacqueline at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Santa Barbara, CA
posted by theDrizzle at 3:20 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by theDrizzle at 3:20 PM on April 12, 2010
Spokane is no metropolis, but you may want to look into Couer d'Alene or Sandpoint, Idaho.
posted by Duffington at 3:47 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by Duffington at 3:47 PM on April 12, 2010
Eugene, Oregon comes to mind.
posted by TrialByMedia at 4:10 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by TrialByMedia at 4:10 PM on April 12, 2010
Well, obviously: Corvallis, Oregon. About an hour and 15 minutes south of Portland.
Population just over 50,000. Major Pac10 university. 45 minute drive to the ocean. Two hour drive to the mountains. Great downtown area with locally owned coffee shops and restaurants.
posted by Knowyournuts at 4:30 PM on April 12, 2010 [2 favorites]
Population just over 50,000. Major Pac10 university. 45 minute drive to the ocean. Two hour drive to the mountains. Great downtown area with locally owned coffee shops and restaurants.
posted by Knowyournuts at 4:30 PM on April 12, 2010 [2 favorites]
Tucson, AZ
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 4:31 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 4:31 PM on April 12, 2010
Check out Prescott, AZ. It's an hour north of Phoenix and ~1 hour from Flagstaff as well. Outdoors opportunities abound, the climate is great, and the cost of living is pretty low.
posted by arianell at 4:37 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by arianell at 4:37 PM on April 12, 2010
Santa Rosa is pretty limited in terms of... well anything except booze and hair salons. It does have a lot of both of those. Petaluma is a much better option in that area imho.
posted by fshgrl at 4:50 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by fshgrl at 4:50 PM on April 12, 2010
What about one of the suburbs of San Diego? There's a lot of cultural goings-on in San Diego, and you can ski, surf, hike, bike, and ride scooters/motorcycles in the same day. Honestly, I'd suggest a neighborhood of San Diego itself like Kensington... why exactly does it need to be an exurb? School quality?
posted by speedgraphic at 5:30 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by speedgraphic at 5:30 PM on April 12, 2010
Canmore, Alberta. A lot smaller than 50k but absolutely meets all your criteria.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 5:53 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by ethnomethodologist at 5:53 PM on April 12, 2010
Olympia gets my vote also. It's small and charming with really quite beautiful areas. It seems a little light on the BIG cultural stuff like symphony orchestras and whatnot, but it's heavy on community charm, it's a little under an hour from Seattle, and it is a hop/skip from the Olympic Penninsula and Mt Rainier, and you're that much closer to Portland should you want to drive down there.
I'm still too young for a small city (he says while living grudgingly in a city of 30,000 people), but if I weren't - Olympia would be the place I'd be.
It's got nice municipal hiking trails, otters, cute coffeeshops, a quaint but effective "downtown" near the capitol building (which to me smells like steady jobs...), otters, an adorable farmers market right on the harbor, and otters. Did I mention the otters?
posted by greekphilosophy at 6:32 PM on April 12, 2010
I'm still too young for a small city (he says while living grudgingly in a city of 30,000 people), but if I weren't - Olympia would be the place I'd be.
It's got nice municipal hiking trails, otters, cute coffeeshops, a quaint but effective "downtown" near the capitol building (which to me smells like steady jobs...), otters, an adorable farmers market right on the harbor, and otters. Did I mention the otters?
posted by greekphilosophy at 6:32 PM on April 12, 2010
Berkeley, CA. Public transportation abounds, fantastic weather with the East Bay park system and trail around the Bay, lots of independent coffee shops, stellar theater companies (google them!), and I know you didn't mention this, but you can get practically any type of cuisine in the world here.
posted by Pocahontas at 7:10 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by Pocahontas at 7:10 PM on April 12, 2010
I grew up in Bend and still visit frequently. It's a great place. What it is not, though, is anything like an hour from a major city. Portland is 3.5 hours and, at this point, neither Salem nor Eugene (which were the intermediate cities we visited for shopping and cultural activities whan I was a kid) is much bigger than Bend. It meets all of your other criteria, though.
If you're interested in Oregon, only Corvallis and (to a lesser extent,) Eugene meet your stated criteria.
Flagstaff is a lot like Bend, and it's closer to Phoenix than Bend is to Portland. It's a touch smaller than Bend, and I mean that as a compliment.
Victoria, BC is 2 hours from Vancouver.
Berkeley, CA sounds like exactly what you're looking for.
posted by willpie at 7:40 PM on April 12, 2010
If you're interested in Oregon, only Corvallis and (to a lesser extent,) Eugene meet your stated criteria.
Flagstaff is a lot like Bend, and it's closer to Phoenix than Bend is to Portland. It's a touch smaller than Bend, and I mean that as a compliment.
Victoria, BC is 2 hours from Vancouver.
Berkeley, CA sounds like exactly what you're looking for.
posted by willpie at 7:40 PM on April 12, 2010
Somewhere in Marin county, perhaps - near San Francisco, and lots of hiking & nature around. A couple hours drive to great skiing at Tahoe.
posted by insectosaurus at 8:05 AM on April 13, 2010
posted by insectosaurus at 8:05 AM on April 13, 2010
Claremont, CA
30k people, but in a much larger suburban area area. Top 5 places in country to live.
1-1.5h to LA & ocean. 20 mins to Mt baldy, 1.5hrs to Big bear (skiing). Hiking all in the San Gabriels, Los angeles national forest, Joshua tree (all ca 90 mins away).
Too small for me (sigh - I live here), but right up your alley.
posted by lalochezia at 10:35 AM on April 14, 2010
30k people, but in a much larger suburban area area. Top 5 places in country to live.
1-1.5h to LA & ocean. 20 mins to Mt baldy, 1.5hrs to Big bear (skiing). Hiking all in the San Gabriels, Los angeles national forest, Joshua tree (all ca 90 mins away).
Too small for me (sigh - I live here), but right up your alley.
posted by lalochezia at 10:35 AM on April 14, 2010
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posted by Paragon at 2:43 PM on April 12, 2010 [3 favorites]